TMC flags ‘mismatch’ in MGNREGA work data post Centre’s reply

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday flagged what it called a “mismatch” in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) implementation after the Central government replied to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha by TMC MP Derek O’Brien.

According to data laid on the table of the House by Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the number of households registered under MGNREGA rose from 14.81 crore in 2023–24 to 15.99 crore in 2024–25 — an 8 per cent increase.

However, during the same period, the average days of employment per household dropped from 52.08 to 50.23, while the total number of individuals who actually worked fell from 8.34 crore to 7.88 crore.

The Centre described MGNREGA as a demand-driven wage employment scheme and said that the number of employment days is linked to the demand from workers.

It also listed several initiatives to boost awareness and ensure that work demands are registered, including village wall paintings, participatory planning through Gram Sabhas, and ‘Rozgar Diwas’ events.

Following the reply, TMC took to social media to allege inconsistencies. In a strongly worded post on X, the party said: “RED FLAGS in @MoRD_GoI’s response to a question by our Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya Sabha,[email protected] households under MGNREGA shot up from 14.81 crore (2023-24) to 15.99 crore (2024-25), but Average days of employment dropped from 52.08 to 50.23. Total number of workers also fell from 8.34 crore to 7.88 crore”

The party further alleged that Bengal had been deliberately excluded from data on pending wage and material liabilities: “You withhold our funds. You arrest and deport our people. But now you want to wipe Bengal off your records? You may control Delhi, but you don’t own India. And you sure as hell don’t own Bengal.”

Responding to a separate question on MGNREGA wages, the Centre stated that it revises wage rates annually based on the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL), and that average wage rates have increased by 5 per cent in the last year.

However, it added that state governments are free to provide higher wages using their own resources.